head fake

English

Noun

head fake (plural head fakes)

1. (sports) A player's movement of the head as if to change direction, hoping to mislead pursuers.

   Hypernyms: fakeout, feint

   • 2008, Ron Vanderlinden, Football's Eagle & Stack Defenses, Human Kinetics, →ISBN, page 158:

     An effective speed rush will often involve a head fake by the pass rusher. To execute a head fake, the defender takes an aggressive step at the blocker or to the inside or outside of the blocker.

2. (by extension) Any analogously misleading situation, such as a brief rise before a fall on the stock market.
   • 2007, George A. Fontanills, Getting Started in Commodities, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 203:

     The head fake is the pattern that causes support and resistance traders the most headaches. If a market reaches a support or resistance level and immediately reverses, it can be a straightforward move to climb on board in the direction of the reversal.

Further reading

• head fake on Wikipedia.Wikipedia